14 



dred pounds seed cotton to the acre. Unlike the Upland cotton, 

 which possesses seed covered with short lint, and is white in ap- 

 pearance, Caravonica has clean black seed similar to the Egyptian, 

 and is ginned by the roller gins, and not by means of saw gins. 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



To sum u] , the high percentage of lint and its good length, 

 combined with its drought-resisting qualities and the good form 

 of the tree, highly recommend the Caravonica cotton as the future 

 standby to the cotton growers in the Southern States. — Rci'iczv 

 of Tropical Agriculture (Mexico). 



A NEW GROUP OF fUXGI ON SCALE INSECTS. 



In the Annals of Botany, Vol. XXV, No. XCIX, p. 842, there 

 appears an interesting note by Fetch entitled "Note on the Biol- 

 ogy of the Genus Septobasidium." The writer points out that in 

 this genus are included a fairly well defined group of Basidiomy- 

 cetous fungi formerly classified under the genera Thelephora, 

 Corticium and others related to these. The members of the group 

 occur mainl}' in tropical countries and are found as a rule en- 

 crusting the living branches and leaves of plants up to a height 

 of 10 feet or more from the ground. The variously-colored sheets 

 of fungus often cover these parts for a distance of several feet, 

 but they never kill them or cause any noticeable injury. The 

 question therefore that naturally arises is upon what do these 

 fungi live, since they do not appear to be parasitic on the plants 

 on which they grow. 



r>om an examination of a long series of specimens, Fetch con- 

 cludes that they are parasitic on scale insects, not, as in the case 

 of the well-known local forms, on individuals, but upon whole 

 colonies. This fact is of considerable interest from a local point 

 of view, because at least two species of the genus Septobasidium 

 occur fairly commonly in these islands. The first is one described 

 under the name Thclophora pedicellata, in the Agricultural News, 

 Vol. IX, p. 286. It is very common on lime trees in St. Lucia and 

 forms violet-grey, waxy patches on their branches; the i^atchcs 

 are often of considerable extent. In the description referred to it 

 is stated that the presence of the fungus is often associated with 

 the death of the parts affected; but it is also true that very fre- 

 quently, as recent examinations have shown, the fiuigus may be 

 present in large cjuantities without causing any apparent injury. 

 The association of this fungus with scale insects that looked 

 healthy is also recorded in the same place, but almost certainly the 

 presence under the older parts of the fungus of numtMous dead 

 insects was overlooked. It appears, therefore, that this fimgus 



